Batman: Arkham Knight - 10 Things It Must Learn From Origins

Warner Bros. Montreal's take had far more going for it than you might think.

by Ewan Paterson

Whilst the world eagerly awaits the release of Rocksteady's conclusion to their immaculate Arkham-Saga, there is much it can learn from the oft-criticised Arkham Origins. Despite its few shortcomings, developer Warner Bros. Montréal made a valiant effort in taking on a franchise many thought only belonged to Rocksteady, and crafted a game that actually outshone its predecessors in many key areas - not least of which in its amazing story and detective based gameplay sections. Like it or not, Rocksteady aren't perfect. Despite their two well received Batman releases there are still aspects of gameplay and story that the London-based devs have yet to perfect, and on top of a markedly poor marketing campaign for Arkham Knight worries of its potential flaws are only being amplified. This isn't to say that the only emotion to be met with the threequel's release is anxiety, as it's very clear Rocksteady have gone to great lengths to truly make it their Magnum Opus, but flaws should never be overlooked - especially when they're extremely easy to rectify and build upon. Despite building a reputation of being a flawless release, Arkham City did make a number of errors that prevent it from outshining the claustrophobic and semi-linear Arkham Asylum. Whilst there are certainly lessons Rocksteady can learn from their 2009 superhero début, taking a long look at what Origins did right (and wrong) is really what the developer needs. WB Montréal's prequel, though not perfect, is still a stellar title and a worthy addition to the compendium of Batman video-games released thus far - neglecting it would be a grave mistake to make.

Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.